Historic West End House Sells For Well Below List Price, Gets New Life As Home | Rob Giuffria, GMS |Prudential Premier Homes West Hartford

HARTFORD — High hopes for renovations to the historic Elisha Wadsworth House have been matched by architecturally accurate work outside and what amounts to a brand new, upscale home inside. But the oldest house in the city's West End fell short in one area: sale price.The Prospect Avenue house sold Oct. 31 for $550,000, just a little over a third of the original listing price of $1.49 million in July 2013. The listing price for the four-bedroom, two-bath house was cut seven times, according to zillow.com.

"Unfortunately, there are multiple properties on that street in this price range," said Frank J. Cotrona owner of Cameo Builders in Wallingford, which renovated the house. "They aren't as new as ours, but they aren't selling either." Cotrona said he took a $200,000 loss on the project, but it was time for him to move on, after trying to sell the brick, Federal-style home for more than a year. By most accounts, new owners Michael and Lynn Herlihy paid a fair price for the well-appointed 5,000-square-foot home, built in 1828 as a tavern. Veterans of at least two home renovations — the latest, at their current West Hartford house — the Herlihys could see Cotrona's attention to detail, right down to decorative flourishes on baseboards. "We're just amazed at the great work done in here," Michael Herlihy, president of an investment advisory firm in West Hartford, said during a walk-through with a visitor this week. " He took what was probably a fragmented and chopped up floor plan, and now it's a great fit." Prospect Avenue divides Hartford from West Hartford. The Wadsworth House is on the Hartford side. For all the stately appearance of the street, sales in the area north of the Governor's Residence to Albany Avenue have mostly ranged between $500,000 and $900,000 in the past five years, an analysis of Multiple Listing Service data shows. One notable exception was the French chateau-style mansion at 1060 Prospect Ave. that sold for $2.2 million in 2012.

Rob Giuffria, President of Prudential Premier Homes in Farmington, said the initial asking price was too high, given the property is on the busy corner of Prospect and Albany avenues. "Think of the million-dollar property owner," Giuffria said. "They are not going to buy on a busy street, unless the house is set far back from the road." The recovery in the market for homes $800,000 and above in the Hartford area generally remains slow, Giuffria said. Prices are relatively stable but not making any significant gains, he said. Cotrona took a gamble on the house. Though historic, it had suffered through two unsuccessful renovations since 2006. At one point, a burst water pipe damaged much of the interior woodwork that dated from the initial construction.

Old-home admirers, the Herlihys had driven by the Wadsworth House several times in recent years during Sunday drives around the city's West End. Even in its deteriorated condition, the Herlihys saw potential and, as the price for the renovated property came down, they decided to make an offer. The Herlihys plan to move into the house before Christmas, becoming the newest stewards of a home with a storied history. First, it was an inn facing Albany Avenue. Then, in the early 1900s, it was turned to face Prospect and converted into a house. A front veranda and a real ell were demolished, and a new addition and third-story dormers were added, along with modern plumbing and heating.

In the latest renovation, workers restored the exterior, repointed the brick, replaced the slate, and refurbished the copper gutter system. Inside, spaces have been reconfigured for 2014, but not in a cookie-cutter kind of way. The living room was fashioned by combining two smaller sitting rooms, giving it two fireplaces. "It could be kind of an awkward space," Michael Herlihy said. "But we have a piano and we're going to put it in here. It will take up a lot of the space." The house's interior still retains some sense of what makes it 186 years old. On the second floor, Lynn Herlihy walks through the master bedroom with its new hardwood floor. "You can still feel how uneven the floors are," she said. The floors, Michael Herlihy said, are evidence the house still retains the feel of its 186 years. "That's part of the charm of an old house," he says. Giuffria said Cotrona could have fared better in the sale if he had chosen to make the house a commercial property, perfect for a doctor's office. It would have capitalized on its location on a busy corner. But the Herlihys said they couldn't be happier with their purchase. Lynn Herlihy said she has already bought 40 Christmas candles to illuminate each window in the house. Michael Herlihy is conscious that his new home is at a busy intersection. Back downstairs he stops in the formal dining room, which may instead be used as a more modern great room. He said the new windows block out most of the noise. "You can't even tell there is traffic out there," he said.